Biya regime has paid the sum of 500 million FCFA to mayor Ekema Patrick of the Buea Council as part of a monthly cash “bribes” scheme to raise the Bakweri youth against other Southern Cameroons tribes residing in the Buea municipality.  The money was handed to the mayor secretly by the Francophone Minister for Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo.

French Cameroun officials in Yaounde are bankrolling a CPDM government initiative to pay Anglophone elites, traditional rulers and community leaders monthly wages to get them talking to the Biya regime. News of French Cameroun’s involvement to destabilize the revolution came as the Defense Minister, Beti Assomo met Mayor Ekema Patrick during a recent visit to Buea. He then held talks with some elites from Manyu, Ndian and Kupe Manenguba appointed by Prime Minister Philemon Yang likely to be involved.

The new strategy comes amid growing violence across Southern Cameroons caused by the French Cameroun dominated armed forces.  The few Southern Cameroonians still militating in the ruling CPDM crime syndicate have accused the Biya administration of “losing the support of Southern Cameroonians”. The bribe scheme is seen as the first step towards winning back influential  Southern Cameroons elites and tribal leaders, on a county level.

The elites were handpicked by Prime Minister Philemon Yang after a French Cameroun government auditioning that was carried out by the governors and prefects of the territory and they are expected to earn about two hundred thousand a month for attending up to two meetings. But critics fear the payments, which are about 30 per cent more than civil servants earn, are President Biya’s way of bribing  Anglophone elites to deliver support ahead of elections next year.

A senior Cameroon Concord News policy analyst in Yaounde said: “If this is perceived as more political patronage, or bribery, it runs the risk of generating friction and resentment.”  The Biya regime is financing a similar initiative in the Bamenda State where thousands of French Cameroun troops have been deployed.

It comes ahead of a major strategy review by the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council which is expected to advocate a major intensification of the ghost town operations. A statement issued by the Chairman of the outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho purportedly condemning the so-called visit of Southern Cameroons elites was treated as inconsequential by agents of the Governing Council.

A senior CPDM personality who spoke to us at the time of fling this report but sued for anonymity said existing French Cameroun government strategies had seen the Southern Cameroons Governing Council gain ground: “We don’t want to create militias, but we need to be empowering leaders like Ekema Patrick. Equip them, not just with weapons but with whatever it takes, so they can protect their territories against secessionist influence.”

Mayor Ekema had discussed the plans with the anti-Anglophone Justice Minister Laurent Esso when he visited Douala and got 60 millions FCFA from the Douala City Council and lied to the press that the amount was 13 million. Prime Minister Philemon Yang has promised to increase support for “community defence initiatives, where local volunteers are recruited to defend homes and families.” But the plans will meet with a stonewall because of a lack of Southern Cameroonian support.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, CCN

Amnesty International on Friday accused Cameroon of detaining at least 500 people “like sardines” in overcrowded detention facilities following arbitrary arrests in two English-speaking regions.

The human rights watchdog said in a statement that the detainees were arrested when protesting in dozens of towns in Cameroon’s Anglophone North-West and South-West regions on October 1.

English speakers in the Central African nation have long complained that they are treated like second-class citizens and that the government makes less money available to them.

Amnesty alleged that Cameroon’s security forces, who killed more than 20 demonstrators that day, had used unnecessary or excessive force when making arrests, and most arrests were carried out without warrants.

According to Amnesty, many people who were injured during the protests were too scared of the security forces to seek medical treatment.

“This mass arrest of protesters, most of whom were acting peacefully, is not only a violation of human rights, but is also likely to be counter-productive,” said Amnesty researcher, Ilaria Allegrozzi.

Source: The Nation

Joseph Beti Assomo, the Francophone Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of defense has praised the army for the numerous killings currently going on in Southern Cameroons.  The Biya acolyte remained firm at the end of the meeting that held yesterday in Buéa promising more raids and a continuation of the militarization of West Cameroon.

It took Mr Beti Assomo more than 5 hours of closed session to assess the security situation in Southern Cameroons.  He told his French dominated security personnel that from the observation Cameroon is dealing with an insurrectional and terrorist movement pointing out that the defense and security forces of La Republique du Cameroun had to carry out the killings for the integrity of the territory. “Security, order and respect must be observed” said the Defense Minister.

The French Cameroun conclave also allowed the so-called governors of the Southern Cameroons regions, senior officials of the defense and security forces, to take stock of the demonstrations on 1 October.  The Beti-Ewondo Minister was informed that during the October 1 Southern Cameroons celebrations, public buildings were destroyed and some soldiers and police officers on duty were injured.

Mr Beti Assomo told state radio and television that “The state through its defense and security forces oversee the territorial integrity of the country as a whole. For this, no square meter of territory was abandoned by the forces. It will be so to the end. We have a Republican army, defense and security forces have done their job responsibly without losing their head.”

By Rita Akana, CCN

The Francophone Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo is expected this Thursday, October 12, 2017 in the Buea County in Southern Cameroons. Information has filtered that Etoudi wants the defense boss to personally conduct an assessment of the security situation in West Cameroon as instructed by the UN Secretary General.

This is the content of a press release issued on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 by the presidency of the republic. “The meeting will scrutinize the security situation and assess the functioning of the various devices on the ground to adapt them where necessary in the light of compliance with law and order,” the press release said.

French Cameroun security forces have carried out arbitrary arrests, illegal searches of homes, murders and other abuses in Southern Cameroons under the watchful eyes of the African Union and the United Nations. This trip by Minister Assomo has been interpreted by the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council has a mission to cover up facts.

Joseph Beti Assomo will meet with senior officials of the central and territorial defense and security forces and the French Cameroun governors of the Northwest and Southwest regions.

By Rita Akana, CCN

A top French Cameroun judge in Yaounde has issued arrest warrants for the organizers of the massive Southern Cameroons protest that held recently in London precisely at Holland Park.  The Biya Francophone regime says Southern Cameroonians in the UK and the USA were responsible for  the controversial  independence day celebration on October 1 that claimed the lives of dozens of British Southern Cameroons citizens.

A French Cameroun Supreme Court  spokesperson told Cameroon Concord News on Wednesday that the warrants had been issued for Barrister Alex Ndive, Kum Engelbert, Tua Fesse Fesse and Kongeh Joseph Wab. We gathered the kangaroo court ruled that the four Southern Cameroonians organized the demonstrations in front of the Cameroon embassy in London  in contravention of a ruling by the nation’s higher judicial council which had found the activities of the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council unconstitutional and banned its activities.

The Francophone dominated government said on Monday that it  has evidence from mobile phone operators that implicates the Cameroon Concord News UK bureau chief, Chi Prudence Asong and Tua Fesse Fesse in the happenings in Buea and Bamenda.  The development came a day after  10 Southern Cameroons citizens arrived the Douala International airport from the US and were detained by plain cloth police officers.

The so-called French Cameroun government spokesman and Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary  said that the independence day celebration was ruthlessly crushed and severely dealt with by troops loyal to the Biya regime. Human Rights groups including Amnesty International say more than a hundred people were killed.

Sesekou Ayuk Tabe, the head of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council noted that the the October 1 celebration has opened a new chapter in British Southern Cameroons history. During a recent interview in London, Chairman Ayuk Tabe said the Southern Cameroons Governing Council is not seeking confrontation with the French Cameroon government but reiterated the governing council’s position that there was an urgent need for a Southern Cameroons army.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, CCN

Witnesses and rights groups said troops and attack helicopters opened fire on protesters at the height of separatist rallies in English-speaking areas of Cameroon over the weekend, killing and wounding people. The army dismissed the reports from sources in five towns as “completely false” and said helicopters had only been used for surveillance.

Any use of air attacks would mark a major escalation in a government crackdown on separatist protests that have been rumbling in Anglophone districts of the central African oil producer for almost a year. Reports that the helicopters fired on protesters is completely false. The helicopters were only conducting surveillance.

Thousands took to the streets in towns across the Northwest and Southwest regions on Sunday, Oct. 1, calling for independence from the country’s French-speaking majority. Rights groups said they started to collect reports on ensuing violence in the areas bordering Nigeria as the week progressed.

Eight people in the towns of Bamenda, Buea, Ndu, Tombel and Kumbo told Reuters that police and soldiers moved in to stop the protests and in some areas, low-flying attack helicopters fired tear gas and live rounds on the crowds.

Etienne Ndage, a 31-year-old journalist for Savannah Frontier Radio in the northwest tea-plantation town of Ndu said he saw helicopters firing at around 1 pm local time, killing two protesters as a 1,000-strong march gained momentum.

“They were firing like in a war film,” he told Reuters. Hilary Manjong, private secretary to a local Member of Parliament in Ndu, said witnesses had shared similar accounts with him.

Army spokesman Didier Badjeck dismissed the accounts. “Reports that the helicopters fired on protesters is completely false. The helicopters were only conducting surveillance,” he said. The government earlier this week said about 10 people had died on Sunday including five in a prison fire that may not have been linked to the protests.

The governor of Southwest region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, told the Cameroon Tribune newspaper in an article published on Tuesday that protesters had ambushed soldiers in Kumba, forcing them to open fire in self defense. Amnesty International told Reuters on Thursday that more than 20 people were killed between Oct. 1 and 2.

“THE INNOCENT ONES”

Demonstrations began nearly a year ago when Anglophone lawyers and teachers protested against having to work in French, saying it showed the wider marginalization of the English-speaking minority. The protests gained support and have increasingly called for Cameroon’s five million English speakers to get their own country.

The rallies have also have become a lightning rod for opposition to President Paul Biya’s 35-year rule. Campaigners called more protests on Sunday, the anniversary of Anglophone Cameroon’s independence from Britain. In the southwest town of Tombel, a resident who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that a military helicopter came so low over the town center that the wind gusts threw a man off his motorbike.

First the helicopter fired teargas to disperse the crowd, then it opened fire, the resident said. “Normally they fire rubber bullets, but I could tell from the sound that these were real,” they added. Outside Buea, police on the ground and a helicopter opened fire on protesters who had run into the bush to bypass a military checkpoint, said Louis Anuchem, a 35-year-old taxi driver from Buea.

“The helicopter came close to the ground,” he added. “We heard the gunshots and the bullets coming through the trees,” he told Reuters. After the demonstrations police went door-to-door in some towns, rounding up young men and women, residents said.

“Soldiers came to our neighborhood and broke into homes and carried boys away,” said Lanya Joel, a 21-year-old Kumba resident. “I am scared and will be away until it’s all over.” Rights group the Southern Cameroon’s Public Affairs Committee said in a report that a 12 year-old girl was shot by security forces from a helicopter in the town of Kumbo.

The Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference of Anglophone Christian Bishops said in a statement this week that is was disturbed by reports that “some of our Christians were … arrested, some maimed, and some were simply shot to death, some from helicopters.” Helene Mekem said her son was shot dead by security forces outside his home in Kumba on Sunday, even though he was not involved in the protests. “They are killing the innocent ones,” she told Reuters.

Reuters

Three people were killed on Monday morning in Mozogo, Mayo-Tsanaga Division, Far North region, in a suicide bombing attack attributed to Boko Haram.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the attack took place on Monday 02 October shortly after 5:30 am (4:30 am GMT), in front of two different mosques. In one of the mosques, a man in his sixties was killed with the suicide bomber who triggered his explosive device.

In the second mosque, only the suicide bomber was reportedly killed. “He blew himself up before entering the mosque, which is what avoided a carnage.

The Nigerian islamic sect Boko Haram has not claim responsibility for this double attack. The French Cameroun authorities are maintaining a kind of deliberate silence as all attention has been channeled to the heavy military deployment in Southern Cameroons.

By Sama Ernest, CCN

The Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) has opened a debate about the absence of President Biya in the country. Via his Twitter account, Maurice Kamto, the chairman of MRC party indicated that Paul Biya has eventually open the door for the nation to look for a possible replacement.

The university don has invited the Supreme Court to rule as a constitutional council on the matter. For the former French Cameroun cabinet minister, the absence of the president of the republic should and must open a succession process.

Chantal and Paul Biya left Cameroon on September 14, 2017, to New York in the United States where they took part in the 72nd general assembly of the UN. More than two weeks later, the Cameroonian presidential couple have still not returned to Cameroon.

By Sama Ernest, CCN

President Paul Biya has sent in the army to deter Anglophone secessionists from declaring their independence as massive protests break out. But this appears to have done little to weaken their resolve.

The Cameroon government has deployed thousands of troops to the anglophone northwest and southwest of the country in an attempt to stop separatist groups from declaring independence on October 1.

Authorities also announced temporary restrictions on travel into Nigeria in the wake of violent protests, sparked by ongoing complaints of economic and political discrimination and demands for more Anglophone rights in the predominately Francophone country.

But at the border locality of Ekok, at least 700 people are ignoring calls for peace by political leaders and civil society groups, and continue to hold demonstrations and attack government buildings while proudly hoisting what they call the flag of their new independent state, Ambazonia.

27-year-old Tambe Elias, who claims to be the head of the group, says they no longer recognize President Paul Biya as their leader.

“He is nobody and he will never mean anything to the Ambazonians. This is the border between southern Cameroon and Nigeria, at the frontier Ekok. You can see the flags, this is the border. Now they have closed the border, they don’t want us to cross to Nigeria, but we are already there. Biya must go.”

The demonstrators attempted to cross over to the Nigerian border state of Enugu, with whom they have strong cultural ties, in order to inform authorities that a new nation had been born, however Nigerian immigration police ultimately prevented them from doing so. So they returned to Ekok, loudly singing their new national anthem while hoisting their blue and white flag and chasing away any Cameroon government workers who crossed their path.

A looming crisis

Despite the setbacks, the separatists have vowed to secede from Cameroon on October 1 – at least symbolically – and have appointed the exiled Julius Ayuk Tabe as their interim leader.

In response, the Cameroonian government has deployed troops to major towns in the country’s English-speaking region in an attempt to stop the demonstrations, although many separatists have simply relocated to smaller regions like Ekok where there is little to no military presence.

Cameroonians in New York call for national unity during a United Nations visit by President Paul Biya

French-speaking Cameroonian, Debong Ignatius, is concerned that the military getting involved may only make matters worse. He spoke to DW about his own recent experience.

“Men in uniform and the police circled our neighborhoods, entered the various houses insisting that people should bring out any Ambazonian flags which they were hiding. But I do not think it is their duty to go harassing people at this precise moment because it can exacerbate the situation.”

Government ministers step in

Almost all English-speaking government ministers and senior state workers in the capital Yaounde have been sent home by President Biya with orders to convince people not to support the separatists.

Secretary of State in the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Technological Development, Fuh Calistus Gentry, told DW he plans to focus on speaking with his constituents about the dangers of believing in false hope.

“First of all this is a psychological war where people are frightened because some groups of people have taken their minds hostage. Secondly there is a false hope that is put into peoples’ minds. We have tried to assure people that the state will go to any extent to assure the fundamental rights of every person. We have also gone out to detoxify the minds of people which is built around false hope.”

Schools remain shut

Anglophone independence protesters are released from custody at Yaounde prison

Schools have been closed in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions since November 2016, when lawyers and teachers called for a strike against what they believe is the overuse of the French language.

Many of those involved in the strike were arrested, with pressure groups calling for their immediate and unconditional release. Fifty-five of the 75 protesters were released and charges were dropped, with observers viewing this as a significant concession to the strikers’ demands.

But with separatists now calling for complete independence from Cameroon, President Biya has made it clear that he is not open to any form of negotiation over the issue, saying the country will remain indivisible.

Source: DW